Santa Claus, my dear old friend, you are a thief, a traitor, a slanderer, a murderer, a liar, but worst of all you are a mockery of everything for which I stood. You have sung your last ho, ho, ho, for I am coming for your head. I am coming to take back what is mine, to take back Yuletide...

"One Christmas Eve" in a small hollow in Boone County, West Virginia, a failed songwriter named Jesse witnesses a strange spectacle: seven thugs cloaked in black attacking a man in a red suit with a sleigh. When Jesse steps in to help, the mysterious figures all disappear, leaving behind a large sack - a magical bag that will plunge the down-on-his luck songwriter into a thrilling adventure. The bag turns out to be the property of Krampus, the ancient trickster demon who punishes the wicked-and Jesse's new master who will teach him things about the man in red he didn't know, including how a half a millennium ago, the cherry-cheeked jolly old saint imprisoned Krampus and usurped his magic.

But Santa's time is running out, for the former Yule Lord is determined to destroy his enemy and reclaim his holiday. Now, Jesse has the chance to save his daughter and his own broken dreams ...and return wild magic to all the impoverished folk of Boone County. (Oct 30, 2012)

What can I say - this one appeals to the Nightmare Before Christmas fan inside me. It sounds to be just dark, twisted, and imaginative enough to make for the perfect Halloween read.

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